Things Worth Fighting For
by that drama queen
Summary: [late S4, post shooting] When the mysterious new science teacher arrives at Degrassi, he finds himself having to recruit a couple of unsuspecting teens to protect a project. How will this affect his students at Degrassi?
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:** I'm gonna need some time to set up the crossover aspects of the story, so if you're wondering what this has to do with Degrassi, just be patient.

**Prologue:** You Idiot! You Let Your Partner Experiment On Himself???

A tall dark haired man sat in an empty conference room style area surrounded by white walls, waiting for the rest of the attendees of the meeting to arrive. He had been lucky to find a suitable house to move into after the events in Reefside, California. He had found a sizable property in the middle of nowhere about an hour outside of the city, hidden away from sight. From his seat at the head of the table, he could see the movers moving boxes into the house due to the door being wide open.

"Yes, right there in the empty living room, that's fine," he instructed them as he put his feet up on the table.

The movers continued along, minding their own business while the people he had been waiting for filed into the house.

"Hey, guys, over here!" he called out to the visitors of his new home.

He stood up as the people filed into the room and greeted them individually.

First he turned to a blonde woman wearing a grey skirt and a pink blouse named Dana Grayson. "Dr. Grayson, it's nice to see you again."

The woman replied, "Likewise, Dr. Oliver." She then sat down at the long table.

The next person Dr. Oliver greeted was a woman by the name of Angela Rawlings. "Hello, Ms. Rawlings. I'm extremely pleased that you made it."

The dark haired woman simply nodded. "It's my pleasure to be here, Dr. Oliver." She in turn, took a seat next to Dr. Grayson.

The next person to enter was Captain Ryan Mitchell, the man who reinstated the Lightspeed Rescue organization in Mariner Bay and was running the area with his current crop of Power Rangers. "Hello, Captain Mitchell, your support means a great deal to me."

"No problem," the blond man replied with a smile as he sat down across the table from his sister, Dana.

"There's someone else missing." Dr. Oliver took a look around and before he could say anything, a young dark haired man of about 19 burst into the room, out of breath. "Justin!"

Justin smiled brightly as he gave his old friend a quick hug. "Tommy, I got here as fast as I could…I still can't believe you're a doctor of paleontology…I'm still not calling you Dr. Oliver!"

The three people already sitting at the table gave Justin a stern look. After a few quick introductions, the young man quickly took his seat next to Tommy and they got the meeting started.

"I have a situation here and I believe that out of all the former Power Rangers you four are most able to help me out. Three of you are connected to Lightspeed Rescue, which is a valuable resource in case the trouble gets out of hand. And Justin…well, you're gonna have to explain why you insisted on being a part of this team."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "How much trouble are we talking about here, Tommy?" he asked.

Justin gave Tommy a stern look of his own, as if to tell him to tell the rest of the group what was going on.

"I spent my years in grad school working for a man named Anton Mercer. He was developing this new form of dino-technology. Seeing as I have roots in dino-technology, being one of the first Power Rangers from Earth to use it, I decided that my knowledge would be best spent with him. However, we hit a roadblock with the bioengineering and Anton decided to experiment with himself, giving himself shots of modified DNA."

Dana, Ryan and Angela muttered amongst themselves, shocked at Tommy's revelation. Justin had been previously informed of all that information but he was still very much horrified at what Anton Mercer had done.

Tommy continued his explanation. "Now he's mutated his own DNA and become this monster, Mesogog. I got into an altercation with him that involved another associate, Terrence Smith. The lab where we had been doing some experiments was caught in an explosion. I don't know what happened to either one of them, but if they survive, they're going to come after me. I've hidden a lot of the research because of their new evil inclinations. I'm going to need some muscle to protect the dino-technology, otherwise they could use it to destroy the planet."

"So where do we fit in?" Dana spoke up.

"You are one of the best doctors Mariner Bay has to offer and you were once a part of Lightspeed Rescue. Your services may be needed and it's tough to go to hospitals and come up with an explanation for the battle injuries. It's better to have someone on the inside. And because Ryan is now running the show at Lightspeed Rescue, he's here because we're gonna need a backup plan in case things get out of hand. Angela, I've heard you're a technological whiz. I need someone like that on my team."

At the end of Tommy's explanations, there was a moment of silence for the members of the Lightspeed Rescue team to consider what he had just said.

"Okay, you've got me and the Lightspeed Rescue team in case you need help," Ryan spoke up first.

Dana simply nodded in support of her older brother.

"Okay, you've got my help too," Angela chimed in, "So what's next?"

Tommy shot Justin his 'you-owe-me-an-explanation' look. "So why did you insist on coming to this meeting?" he asked the 19 year old college senior.

Justin cleared his throat. "I'm here for the wedding. Cassie Chan's getting married this week. Don't know if you remember her – she replaced Katherine back when we had the Turbo Powers. The man she's marrying is way older and has a daughter in university. Thought maybe I could try to recruit her for the Dino Powers...she's a swimmer, she's athletic. She's used to training."

"I still don't think it's a good idea to use the Dino Gems…they're unstable and you don't know if they're safe," Tommy replied seriously, "We can't harm random people with this technology."

"From what I've read from your research, Tommy, if a Gem is bonded to an owner, it would be more difficult to harness its power," Angela noted in Justin's defense, who received a mouthed thank you from the young man.

"Difficult, but not impossible," Tommy replied, "I don't wanna endanger anyone with this – I just can't go through with it."

Justin put on his most serious expression. "I'll do it. I'll bond to a Gem and find a couple of teammates who will do it. I'm sure Cassie's future stepdaughter has friends."

"Justin…"

"Ms. Rawlings is right – I read the research paper too. This is our safest bet to keep the dino-technology you've been working on from getting in the wrong hands. I'm not a kid anymore – I can handle this."

Tommy looked at Justin, all of 5'10, 19 years old…he was not the same kid he met all those years ago. He sighed heavily. "Okay, Justin, you win. Just be careful out there, okay?"

"You know I will be." With a confident smile, Justin added, "Trust me."

"Justin, report to me with some research on those potential recruits as soon as you can. Angela, you and I will meet later on so I can show you the work I've been doing. I'll call you on your cell later to arrange a time. Dana, Ryan – thanks again for coming. I'll keep in touch."

The group of former Lightspeed Rangers said their goodbyes and filed out of the room, soon followed by Justin, leaving Tommy alone with his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes** This chapter references a scene from Total Eclipse Of The Heart from Season 5 but is actually set during the end of the school year in Season 4. I'm gonna make random references to that episode because it's my favourite one, even though it doesn't fit with the timeline.

**Chapter 1:** Allison Gets Smacked In The Face With Drama…TWICE!

Shades on and lips pursed, Allison Davis was in a taxi, on her way home from the train station. She hadn't been home for the better part of a year and she was nervous. She was afraid of running into people, especially one Dylan Michalchuk. She could still feel the sting from last year's emotional goodbye and she wasn't sure she could handle facing him. She felt something was weird when her father called her and insisted that she come home a week back, and she wondered what was going on and why he had insisted upon her return.

Finally the taxi came to a stop in front of the Davis residence. Allison stepped out, grabbed her duffel bag and paid the driver before walking up the front steps. She walked slowly towards the front door and sighed. Home sweet home. She pulled out a key and unlocked the front door. Before she entered the house, she glanced across the street at the Michalchuk house. Shaking her head and changing her mind about checking in on Dylan, the dirty blonde girl stepped into her childhood home. She noticed a blinking light on the answering machine on the table by the stairs and she hit the play button.

_**"Hey, Sweetpea, I'm sorry I wasn't able to pick you up from the station. Work's been brutal, but I want you to be ready to go out tonight. I have a surprise for you at dinner. Be ready by 6. Love you."  
**_  
When it beeped to signal the end of the message, Alli exhaled sharply as she went upstairs to get settled. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Reeling from the confrontation that had just ensued with Marco, Dylan was sulking in the living room, channel surfing, when he noticed something outside his window. His eyes drifted to the house across the street, a house had barely paid any attention to since his return from Montreal. He noticed that there was some activity there; a girl was in the living room. He thought of only one person it could be. That was the last thing he needed after a failed attempt to get Marco back: drama on the ex-best friend front. He was really worked up and was ready to go confront Allison but he figured it wasn't a good idea, especially when he was only wearing boxers. 

"Hey, Dyl, you know the best way to get rid of a pest is to kill it," came the familiar snarky tone of voice of his younger sister Paige, "Nothing's gonna happen if you just sit there."

Dylan looked over his shoulder to find Paige standing there. "Hey, didn't see you come in," he greeted her absentmindedly as he turned back to the window, this time not looking at anything in particular.

"You just got home and already you're moping! You can't mope. I should mope – I still have a month of school left!" Paige went on, "Let's go to the Dot and grab a bite to eat or something and then go shopping."

Dylan glared at Paige for a moment before getting off the couch and heading upstairs to get changed – he figured Allison would notice no one was home and that would be that and he wouldn't have to see her.

* * *

After taking the bus (public transit wasn't the worst thing in the world), Alli decided to go to the mall to shop for a new outfit. She needed something nice to wear for dinner and she had a few bucks to kill. Mind you, it sounded like more than just a typical father-daughter date but she figured it was still just the two of them. It wasn't like she had to dress up for her dad, but she wanted to. It had been a month or so since their last father-daughter date and she missed him loads. 

"Hmmm, well if it isn't The Loser Who Abandoned Her Best Friend," came a snide comment from behind Allison a couple of hours into her shopping trip.

Allison turned around to find Paige Michalchuk standing there with a shopping bag in each hand. "Hello, Paige," she replied coolly, "How are you?"

"I'm doing very well, thank you. How are you?"

"Oh I've been okay, not sure why you care." Allison pursed her lips and maintained a very serious expression.

"Oh, I don't - but maybe the best friend you ditched might care. What brings you back?"

Rolling her eyes, Alli asked, "What is your point in this?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm sure I can make you pay for hurting my brother somehow. Just wait."

"Well, I hate to btch and run, but I have to get this outfit home - I have a dinner date to get to."

Without waiting for Paige's response, Allison walked away.

* * *

The doorbell interrupted Tommy's thoughts he stopped unpacking things in his kitchen. He had to wonder who was going to visit him at 3 in the afternoon unannounced. He didn't know anyone from around the area and Justin was supposed to be in the city. As he opened the door to find the young man in blue in front of him, he was surprised. 

"Justin! What are you doing here?"

The brown-eyed kid looked at his friend with a certain subtle alarm in his eyes. "Tommy, I'm nervous, man!"

Tommy let Justin in and replied, "Nervous? About what?"

Justin followed Tommy to the kitchen and explained his situation. "You know Cassie's asked me to tag along to this dinner thing to meet her fiancé's daughter, right?" As Tommy nodded, he went on. "I've just never really been good with girls, man!"

Tommy chuckled as he spoke. "And you drove an hour out of the city just to come here and tell me that?" When Justin shot him a frustrated glare, he got serious and added, "Buddy, it's gonna be fine – just be yourself."

Justin rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot man – I drove an hour for THAT???" A sigh escaped his lips and he went on, "I've just never really had a chance to talk to girls my age."

"Look, just sit down in the living room and I'll try to come up with something helpful."

Justin went off to the living room while Tommy finished unpacking some dishes. Boy would he be laughed at once Justin heard what he had to say. It would be worth it though, to reassure his young friend. It's not like he had any useful advice to give.

* * *

"I can't believe you did that, Dad!"

Allison slammed the car door angrily behind her and stormed towards the house.

"Allison Nicole Davis, stop just one second!" Spencer caught up to his daughter on the front porch and added, "Would you please stop?"

After unlocking the door with her key, Alli went as she stormed into the house. "When were you going to tell me you were going to get married???" She kicked her shoes off and went straight for the living room.

As he sat down next to his daughter, Spencer started to speak. "Allison…Sweetpea…"

"Don't Sweetpea me! Just tell me the truth," Alli snapped, interrupting her father.

"You said you needed to be free – I thought you would be old enough to understand that I might be feeling the same way."

After a pause, Alli spoke up with a bit of a cold whisper. "You already had Mom…what were you thinking, going after someone else?"

"I don't expect you to understand, Alli, but I want you to hear me out. Life is short, and not everyone gets a second chance for anything but especially a second chance at love and happiness. It's like your mother knew I needed someone and sent me Cassie."

"You were looking for an assistant." Allison was still in denial and the wedding was a week away. "Some of us still haven't moved on. How could you?"

Shaking her head, Allison went up to her room. She needed to be alone.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **Nothing Like A Pathetic Note And Some Skinny Dipping

It was one of those days and Spinner was working like a dog at The Dot, as usual, to pay to get his car fixed. He loved Paige but that was something that was going to take time to forgive. He was getting a bit frustrated with the way things were going in his life and he wasn't really in the mood to deal with crap.

"Hey you idiots, putting that sign up outside is one thing, but for the last time, I am NOT posting one in here," he growled from the counter as Danny van Zandt and Derek Haig entered the premises with a handful of LOST signs offering a reward for missing boxers.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure it's okay for us to eat," Danny shot back as he sat at a booth with Derek.

"Fine, but order something or leave."

With that, Spinner went back to work. Not five minutes later, he found himself face-to-face with a guy he had never seen around. It was Justin who sat down at the counter, and he was digging up some information on a certain someone he had recently met.

"So what can I do you for, dude?" Spinner asked in his typical manner.

Without hesitation, Justin replied, "Just give me a double cheeseburger and a coke." He paused then added, "So, busy around this time of day?"

"Hmmm? Yeah. Usually high school kids hang out here in the afternoons, sometimes the university crowd comes in here, but not that often."

"University crowd?" Justin's ears perked up at this. "You wouldn't happen to know an Allison Davis, would you?"

"I know of her, but I don't really know her. I'm pretty sure she's doesn't go to school around here, otherwise I'd know about it. See, she's best friends with my ex's brother's boyfriend, but they're not talking. That's all I really know about that. Why?"

Justin shrugged. He didn't really wanna explain his situation and if she had just returned to Toronto unannounced, he really didn't wanna blow her cover. "Just wondering."

Spinner rolled his eyes at Justin as he returned several moments later with the double cheeseburger and coke. Justin smiled gratefully and began to eat.

"No, you know how it is, it's the same old drama, and I wish I hadn't come home, Hunt," came a distinct female voice behind Justin. It was her. He listened carefully to her side of the conversation as he ate.

Over at a booth directly behind Justin, Alli was on the phone with her roommate Hunter. "Yeah, I know, just talk to him. Yeah, we'll see. I'll catch up with you later. Bye."

As Allison ordered, Justin was thinking of a way to approach her. Finally he just stood up and walked over to her table.

"Hey, Allison," he greeted her with a smile, "Anyone sitting here?"

Allison gave Justin a startled look then shook her head. "Go ahead, sit."

Surprised, Justin sat down in front of Allison.

"So, what's going on?" the dirty blonde asked casually.

Justin exhaled. "I just wanted to apologize for the ambush last night. It wasn't cool of Cassie and your Dad to spring their wedding on you last minute. I just thought it would help if you had someone your age around. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. It's not like that, Justin," Alli replied after a moment of silence, "I really didn't mean to be difficult last night. I'm the one who should apologize."

Justin shrugged good-naturedly. "Hey, I was thinking we could start over, you know? Just us kids. What do you say?"

Allison looked as if she was considering it. She slowly nodded after a moment of thought. "You know what? That sounds nice."

* * *

Deciding that emails and text messages were not going to help his case, Dylan had been furiously writing out a short note by hand. After dozens of tries, he finally wrote one he could live with. He didn't care that Marco would know it was from him – he still bypassed the signature part of his letter. He gave it a quick proofreading before he sealed it in an envelope.

_Marco,_

_I don't deserve a second chance but I'm still asking for one. I miss you a lot and I can't stop thinking about you. You made it clear the other day that you don't want anything to do with me but you have to know that I was a fool when I threw what we had away for my freedom. I'm so sorry it hurt you that I had to learn that the hard way. Please just give me a chance to prove myself again. _

_You know how to find me._

The tricky part was delivering the message. Dylan didn't have to think hard because a knock and a familiar voice gave him the answer he needed.

"Dylan? Stop moping around and let me in!" came Paige's cheery voice.

Rolling his eyes, Dylan yelled back, "Come in, kid!"

Paige marched into the room and positioned herself on her stomach on Dylan's bed. "So listen, Dylan, I have a plan that will help you win Marco back."

"Oh really?" Dylan didn't turn to face Paige. Instead, he just continued to do his thing on his laptop.

"Really." Paige smirked at Dylan's back. "It involves your favorite gay all ages club, The Other Team."

"I'm really not in the mood to hear it, Paige." He paused for a moment before adding, "I just want you to deliver a note to Marco, discreetly. Can you handle that?"

"Mum's the word, bro. I got it covered."

Dylan spun his chair around until he faced Paige on his bed and then handed her the envelope. "Just slip it into his locker or something before class. Please don't get noticed," he pleaded with her.

Paige nodded. "So you don't wanna hear my plan?" she added with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Not right now, maybe later," Dylan replied after a moment of reflection.

* * *

Sometime later, Justin and Allison ended up taking a walk by the lake, talking, trying to get to know each other.

"So tell me, Miss Davis, what's your story?"

Justin's question threw Allison off. "My story? I really shouldn't bore you with the details."

"I wouldn't be bored." Justin hoped that Allison knew he was being sincere.

The dirty blonde wondered what she could say. She wasn't about to spill her guts to a total stranger. "How about we play 20 Questions?"

"What about 25?" Justin countered with a bright smile.

Allison shook her head. "20 or nothing."

"Okay, okay, you got me!" Justin exclaimed, "But I get to go first!"

"Deal."

"So wait – is it 20 questions each or 20 questions total?"

Allison pondered this for a moment. "10 each, and we both answer them, so that we've both answered 20."

"Okay, let's start with something easy. Favorite color. Mine's blue."

"Mine's red, actually." Alli thought for a moment before asking, "Favorite song? Mine's Far Away by Nickelback."

Justin lifted a corner of his mouth up into a half smile. "Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls."

The 20 Questions game went on with questions such as Favorite ice cream flavor? Who is your best friend? Best concert ever attended? Heroes? Favorite TV show? Dream vacation? The questions seemed random and trivial but they enjoyed chatting and getting to know each other. The mood was light until Justin started to get curious.

"So where are you from originally?" Justin asked.

Allison eyed Justin cautiously. "You wanna get personal – you answer first."

"I'm from Angel Grove, California. Your turn."

"California? You're a little far from home, why's that?"

"Wait a second! You didn't answer my question."

"Look, I'll answer both questions, but…"

"I'm here working with a friend for the summer. Research project. Your turn."

"Now was that so hard?" When Justin merely rolled his eyes at her, she went on, "Okay, I'm from the city, went away for school in Ottawa about 6 hours away but I'm back for a visit."

"Okay, this game's getting to be a bit much," Justin admitted, "I have a better idea!"

Allison raised an eyebrow. His evasiveness seemed suspicious but she didn't think much of it yet. She had time to figure him out.

"Let's go skinny dipping!"

Allison eyed the water then gave Justin a questioning glance. "It's cold out there – you serious?"

Justin nodded. "I have a bag in my car with towels. I always have something packed just in case."

"I met you, literally last night, and you wanna go skinny dipping with me?"

Justin shrugged. "Why not? I promise I won't look."

Allison shrugged back at him and gestured for him to turn around. Justin kept his eyes closed and kept himself turned away from the girl. Allison took off her red sundress and her underwear and with a splash, jumped into the lake. Justin took the splash as his cue to join in. With no concern for being seen, Justin quickly stripped down to nothing and jumped in the water. He swam towards Alli, who greeted her with a smile. They both looked up at the full moon.

"My dad and Cassie can't find out about this," Alli whispered, their noses practically touching each other.

Justin nodded in understanding. "My lips are sealed."

* * *

Tommy was sitting down in his underground headquarters, setting things up around him in the basement. He had done a lot of work setting up his equipment but without Justin around as a technical genius, he couldn't do much on his own. In one metal suitcase, he had hidden the Dino Gems. He sighed – hopefully, Justin would find the right people for the job and this would all work out. He had messed up before, with school, his love life…but nothing ever this serious. He had never messed up as a Power Ranger. If he hadn't tried to help post-retirement, this wouldn't have happened. If he had just let things go after the Red Ranger mission, he wouldn't have put the Earth in danger. Continuing his unpacking solo, he had to keep the faith – Justin wasn't 12 anymore. The young man was a vital part of the mission and he was always smarter than anyone gave him credit for. Tommy had to believe he'd pull through.

* * *

"You know, that was really nice," Allison admitted with a smile as she walked alongside Justin to his car after their walk by the beach and their bit of skinny dipping.

Justin nodded. "I would have to agree. After what happened last night, I didn't think you'd wanna hang out."

"I'm not unreasonable, just a little hot-tempered and I hate surprises."

Justin couldn't help but notice the sparkle in Allison's eyes. "Uh…yeah, so I guess I'll just drive you home. You took the bus, right?"

As they slipped into Justin's Toyota Accord, Allison nodded as she smiled at him – he seemed to feel uneasy and she felt partly responsible for that so at every opportunity, she tried to help him feel more at ease. There wasn't a single word spoken for a few minutes as Justin started the car and turned on the radio. It wasn't until they were out of the parking lot that Allison spoke up again.

"So what's the deal with you? Seriously. All we've done is exchange a bunch of random facts about each other and yet, you seemed like you were hiding something. You seemed a bit evasive earlier."

Justin sighed as he drove. "It's just the way I am with new people. I need time to get comfortable around people before I talk about myself."

"But you'll get naked and go skinny dipping with a total stranger?" Alli gave Justin a skeptical look.

Justin could feel Alli's eyes on him as he replied, "I really don't like to talk about myself."

"Get used to it – I'm already curious."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:** Could There Be Any More Drama Here Already?

"_**Hey where are you? Thought you might wanna help set up my basement but I guess you're busy. Just stay on your toes and don't forget what you have to do. I need to see you on my lunch break tomorrow so call me as soon as you can."**_

As he listened to his voice mail on his cell phone, Justin walked into the kitchen where Cassie was having some coffee. He nonchalantly put his cell phone on the counter, went for a cup of coffee and sat down next to his friend at the counter. He grabbed the sports section and began to read.

"What were you up to last night?"

The simple question had more of a complicated answer than Justin was willing to give. "I was out," was all he said.

"Oh yeah? Do anything fun? Toronto's a great city."

Justin replied, "Nothing really. Just went for a walk."

"You know, I really appreciate you being here this week. No one else has really been around."

Justin nodded in understanding. He thought back to his former teammates back in his Ranger days and it felt weird not to share his new adventure with Cassie.

"So what are we going to do with the Allison situation? Spencer did not handle it well and now this huge fallout – I was hoping you'd be able to help, being close to her age and all…"

Justin shrugged. "I don't know what to do. She's a tough person to figure out. But I ran into her yesterday and we talked a little."

Cassie's eyes lit up. "So you guys are getting along?"

Justin nodded. "Listen, don't worry about it – she'll come around." He picked up his phone from the counter and added, "I gotta go." He stood up and walked away.

"See ya later!" was Cassie's reply as he closed the door to the condo.

After Justin's departure, the phone rang. Cassie quickly picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hi."

Cassie's face lit up at the sound of Alli's voice. "Hey, Alli, what's going on?" she asked casually.

A sigh was heard and then Alli replied, "I'm sorry about what happened the other night. I didn't mean to a brat."

"Sweetie, I understand how you feel. It was all really sudden. Your father didn't handle it the best way – I just hope you can learn to live with this…"

"I'm trying…so anyway, is Justin around?"

"No he just left."

"Okay, I'll try his cell phone. I just wanted to apologize about the other night."

"Okay…take care. We should hang out sometime."

"Maybe. I'll catch ya later. Bye."

Before Cassie could respond, Allison hung up.

* * *

"What the hell is this?"

Marco's annoyed tone of voice rang through the halls of Degrassi as the students headed for their classes. Paige pretended to be busy at her locker as her Italian friend approached her.

"Paige, what is this?" he went on, waving a piece of paper in front of her.

Paige feigned ignorance. "A piece of paper?"

"How did a note from your brother get into my locker this morning?"

"Marco, hun, calm down – I just…"

"You know what, forget it. Let's just go before the new Bio teacher flips on us for being late."

Paige followed Marco into the science lab where they sat down to wait for the new teacher.

"He misses you, you know?" Paige said quietly as the new teacher entered the science room.

Marco didn't have time to say anything however, because a man of average height with dark spiky hair entered the noisy classroom.

"Due to recent events at Degrassi and your science teacher becoming principal, I've been hired to replace her as your science teacher. My name is Dr. Oliver."

* * *

There was a serious vibe when Justin finally got around to meeting with Tommy later that day. Tommy had been concerned when the younger man hadn't answered his cell phone all evening. Justin's technological genius could have been used. Tommy was like, his older brother, and like any concerned older brother, he was gonna grill Justin about why he had not answered his cell phone or returned any phone calls. He only had an hour for a lunch break and was waiting at Starbucks for Justin. Finally the young man entered the coffee shop and joined his older friend at the table.

"Where were you last night? You didn't answer my calls."

"Sorry, man, I was out with Cassie's soon-to-be stepdaughter."

Tommy raised an eyebrow at this. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

Justin shrugged. "She's not so bad. A bit edgy but really nice once you get to know her. What's with the look?"

"You're getting distracted, kid. You said you'd find people to recruit."

"I think she'll be perfect to be your Yellow Dino Ranger."

"Really?" Tommy seemed intrigued.

"She's really great. And she's really fit. She looks like she's in shape. Cassie told me she's a swimmer so she's used to training. She'll work out just fine."

"Okay, so you've got the girl. You need a guy. You need leadership. You're no leader, Justin."

"I know. I'm working on that. I don't know how I'm gonna find this guy, but I will."

* * *

Allison walked into the YMCA; her father had gotten a family membership ages ago. She decided to work out, blow off some steam. Working out used to be a family thing and she used to love to go swimming there with her mother, but after her sudden passing, Alli never bothered to ask her dad to go with her and she never used to go alone. But it seemed as though the day made her want to go back. After a short bus ride, she made it. She slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and walked into the place. _Hasn't really changed. _The sentiment was bittersweet for her – it was reassuring yet painful to think of it that way.

The pool was the place she felt the most at home. She loved it there, as if she was born to live in the water. She quickly got changed and jumped in the pool. She did a couple of lengths of the pool freestyle just warm up.

"Looks like your form hasn't changed."

When Allison emerged from the water, she realized where the voice had come from. "Dylan!" she exclaimed, visibly startled, watching the tall blond sitting at the edge of the pool to her right.

"Welcome back – what kept you away?"

The curly-haired blond seemed edgy and Allison was not about to get into it with him. "I was just back for a visit." She pursed her lips.

"Listen, you're gonna have to give me more than that."

"I don't owe you an explanation," Alli countered, "I have my reasons for leaving and staying away."

"Why don't you just level with me for a change?" Dylan snapped back, "I don't even feel like I know you anymore."

"Maybe you never knew me to begin with."

Allison swam off to where the steps were and walked out of the pool. She had to get away. She wasn't ready to confront Dylan.

* * *

Justin clenched his fists tightly. His right wrist had his gauntlet on it, displaying a blue Dino Gem, which turned into his morpher when he was ready for it. He scanned the gauntlet at the entrance of Dr. Oliver's cave for identification purposes and then as soon as he was granted entrance, he went straight for the connecting tunnel that led straight to the basement of the house. He knew had very little time to act. He walked over to the Communication panel and opened an important direct transmission line straight to Lightspeed Rescue. He tried to keep cool.

"This is The Lightspeed Rescue Dispatch Center, how may I direct your call?" a blonde woman on the screen greeted him.

"My name is Justin Stewart – I need to speak to Captain Mitchell right away," Justin announced with authority.

"If this is urgent, please state your security key phrase for identification purposes."

"Firestorm Blue."

"Please hold while I transfer you to the Captain."

The screen went black for a moment, and then the Captain's face appeared. "Hello, Justin, what's going on?"

"They're coming from the West, sir, and I just wanted to put you on notice in case things get out of hand."

"Where's Dr. Oliver?"

"He's at work. I have one recruit but I still need time to find the other one."

"Do you need me to send out the Lightspeed Rescue – the team is battle ready?"

"No – instead, I would like to request that you grant me access to your Canadian database. I think that may be the key to all this."

"Why? What makes you think you'll find anything there?"

"It's a good place to start and I'm getting desperate. I have something to prove here."

"That you can find the right Rangers?"

"Yes, and you've done well with your database, haven't you?"

"Yes, but the Canadian database has never been used – it was more of a contingency plan."

"I think this is as good a time as any to use it, considering I'm in Canada, sir."

"Type in your security key phrase and you'll get one time access to the database. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. I will report back with an update later."

Justin terminated the transmission and went to a computer panel to pull up the Database. He quickly accessed the search function and typed DAVIS, ALLISON. A file came up and he clicked it open. The Lightspeed Rescue profiler did a thorough analysis on Allison's physical abilities including her personal best swim times and her typical training regimen. Under PERSONAL HISTORY he found some interesting points: lost mother a couple of years back, father remarried, gay best friend…he copy and pasted the name into a new search window and found the file for MICHALCHUK, DYLAN. And there he had it – his recruits! Now if only he could find them…

* * *

"_Maybe you never knew me to begin with."_

The words echoed in Dylan's mind, fresh from the encounter earlier that afternoon. The voice was distinctly engraved in his mind from the first day they met as children from the day she walked out of his life nearly a year ago. They had been through so much – all those years of school, the first date, the first kiss, his coming out, her mother's death…how could she say he never knew her?

The cold water hit the blond pretty hard but he didn't bother to change the temperature. He tried to keep his mind cleared up but thoughts of the blonde came floating back into his mind, taking over his consciousness.

Fifteen minutes later, Dylan stepped out of the change room and headed out the front door. He went to his car and noticed that Allison was waiting for the bus. He approached her carefully, keeping his expression neutral.

"Hey."

Allison's head quickly turned to her left; she waited a moment before saying, "Hi."

Dylan sighed. "Hey, you need a ride or something?"

"Why? So you can tell how horrible I was for cutting you out of my life? No thanks."

Dylan was surprised at how direct the comment was and sharp Allison's tone of voice was. Allison had definitely changed personality-wise – less of the sweet girl next door and more of an angry young woman and he wasn't exactly sure why she was so angry. "Alli…"

Allison sighed. "Listen, Dylan, I…"

"It hurt me to be so cut off from you…I just want my best friend back."

"You already have a best friend." Allison's hazel eyes darted towards the incoming bus then they met Dylan's baby blues. "I have to go."

As Allison turned away, she felt a firm grip grab hold of her hand. "Alli, please don't go. Let me drive you."

Allison's body stiffened as she attempted to resist the pull but in the end, she let the bus pass by her. She relaxed her body, pulled her hand away from Dylan and followed him to his car. They both got settled in, and Dylan drove out of the parking lot and into the streets of Toronto. Allison turned on the radio to a random station and music filled the car, allowing the pair the option of not talking.

_**Going through the motions  
Stuck inside a silent world  
Trying to bridge a distance  
Between where we are and where we were  
I can see were fading  
But we cant go back and we can't go on  
You're still the one that I want**_

Allison bit her lip as the song played. She didn't like how the song hit too close to home. She quickly changed the station and found another song she liked better. She sang out loud, forgetting who was in the car with her.

_**Did you know when you go  
It's the perfect ending  
To the bad day I was just beginning  
When you go all I know is  
You're my favorite mistake**_

Dylan turned the music down and commented, "I didn't know you could sing."

"Yeah, a couple of drunken karaoke doesn't make one a singer," Allison replied nonchalantly.

Dylan turned the radio off completely and said, "Marco never replaced you in my life."

"You could have fooled me," Alli replied with a bit of an edge in her voice.

"I tried, maybe not enough, but I tried, to give you some of my time – you always blew me off!"

"Maybe because I realized that I'm not the most important person in your life anymore. That's okay, you know?"

"You don't have to be so distant because of Marco…"

"Actually, I have to – but that's none of your concern really. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Before Dylan could reply to her, there was a slight earthquake-like rumble and dark clouds began to creep into the sky. Allison looked at Dylan with a bit of a panicked expression.

"Oh must a storm coming…we better get some place safe."

Ringing came from Allison's purse and she grabbed her cell phone to answer it. "Hello?"

Dylan listened intently to Alli's side of the conversation.

"_Oh hey Justin, what's going on?"_

From where Dylan was sitting, it looked Alli was the one who had replaced him.

"_Yeah sure, I'll be there soon, bye."_

Dylan refocused his attention to the road and drove some more.

"I need you to get me to 322 Ashbridges Road – I need to meet up with my friend Justin. He's staying at the edge of Scarborough."

Dylan scoffed. "Are you sure you're not the one doing the replacing?"

Alli rolled her eyes and replied, "If you don't wanna drive, I'll take the bus."

"Okay okay okay, I'll drive."

"Take the 401 – it'll be quicker. With that mini-quake, it looks like there's a bit of a hold up here."

* * *

Justin was pacing around the condo. Cassie had already left for the work so he had the place to himself. The dark clouds and the mini-quake could only mean one thing: Mesogog and Zeltrax had been tracking Dino Gems and were headed towards Tommy's house. He needed to calm down and figure something out. His older friend had been right – he was no leader. He was never really good at thinking on his feet and was prone to panicking a little. He rubbed the metallic cuff where he had placed his blue Dino Gem earlier and he was wondering what he could say to Alli to get her to take the yellow Dino Gem and get her to lead him to Dylan…

"_Look, Dylan, he's just a friend of mine – stop being such a loser!"_

"_Just because you felt you had to abandon me last year doesn't mean I won't look out for you!"_

Having heard two voices outside the condo bickering, Justin just realized that while the manhunt was over, his job just got a lot more difficult.


End file.
